Doing the Dog Days

Football season is around the corner, and through Aug. 14 fans are invited to Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., to watch the Washington Redskins training camp.

In the novel “August” by Judith Rossner, a psychiatric patient is so fearful of her doctor’s absence during summer vacation that she grows more and more depressed at the mere thought of it.

But she manages to get by in her shrink’s absence, and so can all of us poor pathetic people stuck here in Washington, D.C., while our bosses and colleagues are cavorting around the country and the world.

Here’s a taste of what’s on tap for the travel-challenged:

From Aug. 13 to 19, a host of restaurants around the city will participate in D.C. Restaurant Week, offering diners three-course, prix-fixe meals for $20.12 at lunch and $35.12 at dinner. For Hill staffers looking to take a long lunch to make the slow recess days pass, 12 Capitol Hill restaurants are participating, including Johnny’s Half Shell, Belga Café and Sonoma Wine Bar. Be sure to make your reservations early.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company will be hosting screenings and free performances throughout the month. Theatergoers have three opportunities to catch an HD screening of performances of Nick Dear’s contemporary play “Frankenstein,” filmed at the National Theatre in London, on Aug. 7, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall.

If live theater and classic Shakespeare are more your taste, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is running its “Free for All” series Aug. 23 through Sept. 5. “All’s Well That Ends Well” is this year’s presentation. Tickets are available by online lottery on the day of each performance.

The ninth annual Dance DC Festival kicks off Aug. 24 and runs all weekend. Dance styles from around the world will grace the Atlas Performing Arts Center, including flamenco, percussive foot performance, Argentine tango, capoeira and Asian Masquerade.

Capitol Hill is surrounded by museums to check out on an afternoon when you’re let out of the office early. If you’ve got the Olympics on your mind, the Folger Shakespeare Library, situated right behind the Capitol, has an exhibit on the Games’ host city — London. The exhibit focuses on the history of the city from 1500 to 1700 and how the landscape morphed from a medieval fortress to a metropolitan mecca.

On the first floor of the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum displays “40 under 40: Craft Futures,” which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and presents the work of 40 artists under the age of 40. The artwork selected for display was created from Sept. 11, 2001, to present and reflects the ways the world has changed since that day.